Hydraulic spring hanger



Dec. 22, 1953 E. R. HINCKLE HYDRAULIC SPRING HANGER Filed NOV. 21, 1951 llall w i INVEN Edward R. HincK TUR. le

Patented Dec. 22, 1953 UNITED STAT ES PAT 2,663,534 7 HYDRAULIGSPRING HANGER Edward-RtHinckle, Dorchester. Mass.

Application November 21, 1951, Serial No. 257;;6l9 I The present invention relates to ahanger for use more particularly in railway cars, trucks and other types of vehicles for hanging sides-of beef and other large quarters of meatin shipment.

The invention however has'other applications, wherein heavy articles are to be suspended while in motion from beams, brackets orthe like or from any support to which the article of the present invention may be attached;

The invention is more particularly applicable to the suspension of sides ofbeef and meats in railway cars. Up to the present time, when beef is shipped in railway cars the beef is hung from the beam by a hookwhich passes-through the beef and which simply is hung over the beam by means of a U shaped bracket. Using this type of suspension,v it frequently happensthat the beef fa1ls off the hook" on to the floor of the car and as a result the railway company becomes responsible for a damage claim-because of the damage to the side of the beef. These claims occur regularly and are a great cost to the railroad companies.

The reason for the beef fallingoff' the hook is due to a number of reasons. In the-first place the hook tears its way'through' the beef or'the hole made by the hook'becom'es 'sufliciently enlarged so that as the beef shakes around, it'mayshake off the hook. Secondly the hooks often become dislodged on the beamsandfall off;- It may also be noted that considerable damage may happen to the beef by the tearing action of the hook in the beef as well as by the beeijfalling olT the hook.

The applicant has determined that the" falling of the beef off the hook and the fallingofthe hook ofi" the beam may be avoidedbythe, proper design of the hookv suspension to; whichv the present invention particularly relates.

In the present invention,- the suspension means comprises a hydraulic springsuspensionvhanger in which the shock of the up anddown. motion of the hook is distributed and, absorbedandj in which the swinging motion of the.r hookitself is eliminated. The hydraulic suspensionis such that theshock is absorbed bothtin the upward motion and in the downwardmotilon of the hook.

An additional feature of thepresent inven, tion is that the suspensionis, comparatively cheap, and inexpensive and may be. readily mounted on a beam in the. ordinary railway car or it may: also be-mounted. by arsuitable. wall bracket on a side wall or roof of a car.

The hanger: maybe: provided with an: oil. medium. which however will not leak out through the suspensionhook.

Other and furtheradvantag'es: oi': the present invention will; be more readily understood. in connection withthespecification: set iorthbelow when read: in connection withathe drawings. illustrating an embodiment; 0f. the: invention, in which:

Figure L shows; a; in; elevation of the hanger',.and1

Figurezi shows a top. view ofzfiigure 1 with the cover removed:

Inv the. arrangemennindlcated. inrthe drawings, thehanger 1' maybe mountedionaanbeam 2' which may; be a;.b.eam ma railwancar. or otheritrans porting vehicle.

The: hanger: l: comprisesiai housing" 2 which may be rectangular:inshape: as; indicated the figuresnconformingiimwidth to-the widthv of the beam. Thealiousingqihastiour side walls 3;, 4, 5 and.6-, aabottomrlcanmatop-cover 8 whichmay be. removable and wluch ma t beseeured: tightly over: thexends' of thaside? walls by; any suitable means. Theibottom 1= ofrzthehonsing-orcase is provided? with at lurality of unstandmg; bosses 9-v arrangedsymmetrically with; the; longitudinal and; transverse; axes. the housing? As indicated in-rthe 'drawingsnthere are. eight such. bosses 'each.ofzwhich;serve azeaibase oi the support for the ends of the. coiled; springs: N which extend upward. zaemendiculamv tor-thebazscr. These: coiled springs: ID are covered at; their: top; by a. plate I]. which-is providedawithvatnumber of downwardlyr extending: bosses-.- |;2',:-, one for each. to]? end ofitheicoiled:springer, Atuthewaxis; of each of "the coiled-. springs are: rods; I 3,: vwhich are secured. at the centers; oft-he bosses- 9 either bythreading; into: are-hole: as: shown in vFig-urel orby somev other. suitable, method. These rodsl3; extend" upward: through-.theircenter. of: the coiled. springs through:arclearance holeein the top plate H through rin s: like about the;- rods and. are capped by the nuts IS. The rings l lmmay; be threaded .to-.- the: rods andraa-lcckiwasher [6 may be; providedbetween. the; M .and .the nut. l5-.if:desired. Howeverthe, combination: of the two threadedimembers. .thering 14' and the. nut l 5 should be sllfilcient to hold the nutv firmly in place. under. vibratiomwhich mayv occur. in the motion of the. vehicle; Eachpi the springs it are placedunder approximately the same tension by adjustment of the position of the'plate I I and the rings; and" nut'szll andlt respectively;

The plate is mounted witlilts' plane normal to the vertical axis of the housing so that as the plate I l is moved up or down, it will have a slight clearance around its periphery abutting th walls of the housing.

At the center of the base wall 1 of the housing, there is provided an upstanding well or sleeve section I! normal to the base. This sleeve l1 extends approximately half-way to the housing and at the top has connected to it a flexible tube or collar 18 made'of rubber, neoprene or other such material. The collar l8'has its lower end tightly clamped about the top of the sleeve or neck H by means of the clamping member or ring l9.

The collar I8 is preferably of the 4 eye 30 may be a permanent hook or it may be a detachable hook.

The mounting as indicated in the figures, with the hanger on top of the beam and the eye-bolt passing through the beam, has proved to be durable and highly usable construction where beams are used to support the hooks and the meat is hung from the hooks.

In other cases however, for side walls or roof mounting, the flange elements will extend from the side walls of the case, or a strap means may be used, whichever may be the more convenient.

- The device shown herein may be made of noncorrodable materials, capable of withstanding the effects of cold and moisture. The case, the internal metal elements and eye-bolt as well as the Figure 1. The top of the flexible sleeve or collar 18 is carried through an opening in the plate II and is provided with a flange extendingover the I sides of the opening in the plate H by means of which it is firmly'elampedg'to the plate by the clampin cap-20., The'clamping cap 20 for this purpose is provided with an outwardly extending flange 2i and suitable clamping screws 22 which thread into the plate .H and hold the flange of the flexible collar 18 firmly against the plate II. The inside of the clampingelement 20 is threaded to receive the eye-bolt 23.:which has a long shank is threaded at its end into the cap 20. The lower end of the bolt maybe provided with a slot 25 designed to permit a pin to move relatively up and down, in the slot; At the base of the beam 2 surrounding the lower end of the shank 24, there is a short collar 21 which may be secured to the beam by screws 29 passing through'fianges of the collar. The collar 2'! is provided with a diametric hole through which the pin 26 is placed passing through theslot 25 and thereby preventing the shaft from turning after it has once been put in place. If however it is desired to permit the ring 30 at the end of the eye-bolt to swivel, this may be accomplished by providing a swivel joint as diagrammatically indicated at 3|.

The housin is preferably filled with a fluid medium, as for instance, an oil 32, somewhat near or up to the bottom of the plate II. In fact it may be above the plate ll, dependent to some extent on the range of the damping in the initial part of the up and down motion of the eye-bolt.

To provide for the proper damping character istic, the plate II has a plurality of holes 33 which should be or sucha size, number and so placed to permit the plate II to be pulled downward against the spring force under the pull on the eye-bolt and be released so that themotion both downward and upward will be substantially uniformly sufficient to relieve the impact of the hook against the meat. The maximum effect will be gained when the maximum acceleration in either direction is reduced to a minimum. The amount of oil which passes through the holes in the plate will of course be somewhat less if large clearances are permitted between the side walls and the plate ll.

The hanger asindicated in Figures 1 and 2, is

provided with end flanges 34 extending outward from the end of thebase 1 through which the hanger may be mounted on the beam by means of the screws 35. This of course provides for mounting'over a beam, in which case,the eyebolt 23 will pass through the beam and the hook will engage in the eye 30. The hook should of course beof a closedtype so that it will not open except when, desired] The hook attached to the p plate and rods maybe made of stainless steel. The eye-boltshould'have a well finished shank and have a close sliding clearance with the inside of the well ll. If desired the shank of the eye-bolt may have a cap at the top fitting freely within the cap-29, so that it may turn and thereby avoid a swivel joint at the lower end of the shank as illustrated in Figure 1.

Other suitable modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. An hydraulicsuspension hanger comprising a casing having side walls and a bottom, a plate within said casing having itsperiphery extending to the sidewalls thereof providing a sliding fit between the plate and the side walls of the easing, a plurality of coiled spring means projecting upward from the bottom of the casing and downward fromsaid plates for locating the springs in fixed positions, said springs suspending and, supporting said plate within said casing, a plurality of rods, one for each ofsaid springs having one end fixed in the bottom of the casing and the other end extending through said plate, said rods being coaxial with the axis of the coiled springs, means forming a wellprojecting upward from the bottom of the casing with its axis symmetrically positioned with respect to said casing, a shaft element coaxial with said well and having a sliding fit therein, said shaft element extending upward through said well into said plate, means for fixing the said shaft to said plate, an hydraulic medium fillin the casing substantially up to said plate, a flexible compressible elastic sleeve attached at one end to the top of said well and at the other end to said plate for preventing liquids from leaking out of said well, said shaft extending below the bottom of the housing and terminating in a hook cooperative element. v

2, An hydraulic suspension hanger comprising a casing, having side walls and a bottom, a plate within said casing having its periphery extending to the side walls thereof providing a sliding fit between the plate and the side walls of the easing, spring suspension means extending between the bottom of the casing and said plate supporting said plate means forming a well projecting upwardfrom the bottom of the casing with its axis symmetrically positioned with respect to said casing, arod'coaxial with said well having a sliding fit therein, said rod extending upward through said well into said plate, means for fixing the rod to said plate,a flexible compressible elastic sleeve attached at one ,end to the top of said well and at the other end to said plate for preventing liquids from leaking out of said well, a beam on which said hanger is mounted, said beam being provided with a hole therethrough, said rod extending through said hole through the bottom end of said beam, a collar positioned at the bottom of the beam around said rod and means partly located on said collar and partly on said rod for preventing said rod from rotating to permit it to move longitudinally on itself.

3, An hydraulic suspension hanger comprising a housing having side and bottom walls, a plate parallel to the bottom wall and having a slidable fit with the sides of the housing in a direction perpendicular to said plate, said plate having a plurality of downwardly projecting bosses and said bottom having a plurality of upwardly projecting bosses aligned one with the other in coaxial sets, a coiled spring connected between each set of opposing bosses with the ends of the springs fitting snugly over the respective bosses, a rod for each set of bosses having one end fixed in the boss of the bottom and the other end freely sliding through a hole in the boss in the plate, a shaft extending through the bottom of the housing and fixed to said plate, said shaft being normal to said plate and fixed substantially in the center thereof, said shaft having at its end beyond the housing a hook cooperating element and an hydraulic fluid within said housing having a level substantially not lower than said plate.

4. An hydraulic suspension hanger comprising a casing having side walls and a bottom, a plate within said casing having its periphery extending to the side walls thereof providing a sliding fit between the plate and the side walls of the easing, a plurality of spaced coiled spring means projecting upwards from the bottom of the casing and downward from said plate, said coils being distributed uniformly over the area of the plate, means securing the coils in fixed positions against the plate at one end and against the bottom at the other end, including in part a stud for each coil fixed to the bottom of the casing passing upwards through the coil and through a hole in the plate and means at the end of the stud over the plate for putting initial tension on the plate and each coil, a rod passing through the bottom of the casing upwards to said plate,

means securing said rod to said plate, said rod being symmetrically positioned with respect to said plate and extending normally thereto, and means forming a liquid sealed joint about said rod to prevent liquid from leaking out of said casing at the bottom about the rod, said rod terminating below said casing in a hook supporting member.

5. An hydraulic suspension hanger as set forth in claim 4, having an hydraulic medium filling said casing substantially to said plate.

6, An hydraulic suspension hanger as set forth in claim 4, in which the means forming a liquid joint about said rod comprises means providing a well projecting upwards from the bottom of said casing through which said rod extends, a flexible compressible elastic sleeve sealed at one end to the top of the well and at the other end to said plate surrounding said rod, whereby said rod is free for movement through said well in accordance with the motion of the plate and springs.

'7. An hydraulic suspension hanger as set forth in claim 4, in which the means securing the coils in fixed positions comprises in part bosses extending downward from said plate and upwards from said casing about which said coil ends snugly fit.

8, An hydraulic suspension hanger as set forth in claim '7, in which studs fixed in said bosses extending upwards from the bottom of the casing pass through the coils and through holes in the plate with means secured at the ends of the studs over the plate for exerting initial compression on said coil and plate.

EDWARD R. HINCKLE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 624,327 Hammond May 2, 1899 2,335,833 Wood Nov. 30, 1943 2,437,631 Wood Mar. 9, 1948 2,589,726 Neufeld Mar. 18, 1952 

